


If I Said I'm In Love

by philipiguess



Category: The Wrath and the Dawn Series - Renée Ahdieh
Genre: Amnesia, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Fake Marriage, Temporary Amnesia, also khalid and shazi finally throw the hands i was waiting half of twatd for, especially khalid, like even more so than before he needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 08:21:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15815091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philipiguess/pseuds/philipiguess
Summary: Khalid loved her more than life itself. Shahrzad had given him everything-a path back into the light, a love that didn't wane, and they'd been hoping for a child- but he suspected she was currently trying to give him poison. This was, unfortunately, the third assassination attempt of the day.orwhat happens when shazi forgets everything after shiva's death





	If I Said I'm In Love

“You’re scared.”

“Of course. Stop teasing.”

Shahrzad sighed and rolled to face him, her _shamla_ pulling tight against her waist. “I’m fine, Khalid. It’s a bump and a bruise, is all.”

“You fainted,” he insisted. “And hit your head on the way down. They called me to the infirmary and I thought-”

“What, that I’d managed to shoot myself?”  
“That something awful had happened.” Khalid gently traced the side of her face, skimming over where the bandage was wrapped.

“Well, it wasn’t anything awful. I really am fine. It doesn’t even hurt.”

At that, he gave a small smile, and they passed a moment in peace, watching the other in the moonlight leaking in from her balcony doors. Shahrzad had, after a day of feeling too nauseous to eat anything, gone to practice archery with Jalal and fainted in the sun. She knew Khalid was just as worried over that as he was over the contusion to her head.

“Maybe you should take a break from archery,” Khalid suggested.

“No.”

“Shazi-”  
“I’m fine. I don’t need to be treated like glass.”

“Not a long break. Spend tomorrow resting.”

“That would be easier if anyone else was here.” Irsa was studying with Artan, and Despina and Jalal had left that evening for Parthia, going to help Yasmine with her new duties as sultana.

“Shahrzad, please?” _That voice. That damn soft voice he only uses with me._

Shahrzad allowed herself to glare at him, irate. “I’ve been shooting since I was twelve. A fluke of a faint doesn’t mean I need to lie about in bed all day. If there’s anyone requiring rest, it’s Jalal, given how he tore out half his hair today.”

Faint amusement passed over Khalid’s face, though his voice betrayed none of it. “He knows I’m furious with him. Why wasn’t he there to catch you?”

“What’s done is done,” Shahrzad sighed, flopping to her back and catching her husband’s hand. “But please don’t fret about this for the rest of the month.”

“I’ll do my best, _joonam_.”

 

 

Khalid awoke slowly. The light of dawn had already crept into the room and up its walls, though not with the force of midmorning sun. Shazi’s legs were tangled with his own, her peaceful sleeping face obscured with a mess of dark hair. Khalid allowed himself to gently move it from her face and watched as her eyes, still smeared with old kohl, slowly blinked open. In the haste to get her into bed, eating and resting, and still see Jalal and Despina off, it must have slipped both their minds to wipe off her cosmetics.

“How are you feeling?” His voice was low and soft with sleep.

“Awful,” she croaked, burying her head into his chest and breathing in. Khalid frowned. That was _not_ how she’d supposedly felt last night. Shahrzad lifted her face with a mirroring expression. “What’d I do to my head?”

“You don’t remember?” His arms tightened around her back. He hoped his protectiveness wasn’t perceptible; they didn’t need to repeat last night’s discussions.

Shahrzad’s brows drew closer. “What’s your name? So I know I’m remembering everything.”

“Khalid,” he said slowly. “Shazi-”

“Khalid Ibn al-Rashid?” Her expression brightened, bringing hope into his confusion.

“Yes.” Relieved, Khalid smiled as she reached for the silver pitcher of water they kept on the bedside table.

“We drank most of th-” Shahrzad turned and slammed it into the side of her husband’s head.

“Scum,” she seethed, hitting him again and moving to straddle him. “You murderous _thief-_ ”

Khalid shot upright and grabbed it from her. “Shazi!”

Her eyes flew wide, panic and anger blaring behind them. “Don’t call me that.” She backed away and found her dagger atop a pillow thrown to the ground. What was she doing?

Khalid grabbed his _shamshirs_ and unsheathed them, positioning wife and husband on opposite sides of the bed. “Shahrzad. Put the dagger down.”

“No! Fight me, you bastard, or are you too afraid of what happens when the girls have a chance to fight back?” she sneered. There was sheer, heartbreaking hatred in her voice he hadn’t known it could convey. _When the girls have a-_ Merciful God. Fear snaked into his heart.

 _“Put it down,_ Shahrzad. Tell me what’s wrong,” he ordered as he began striding around the bed, and she dropped into a defensive stance.

“What's wrong?" Shazi shrieked. "What's wrong?" Her voice shook into laughter as a single tear slipped from her eye, only to be furiously wiped away. "What's wrong is that you're still alive."

Khalid broke apart his _shamshirs_ and twirled them, hoping to intimidate. He knew if he tried to speak, his voice would break.

“Go on. Make me number seventy-three,” Shahrzad snarled, raising her dagger with a white-knuckled grip.

 _“Sayyidi?”_ A knock sounded on the door. Never taking his eyes off the furious figure of whatever demon had replaced his wife, Khalid went to the door. “Do you require guards?”

“Call General al-Khoury and the _faqir._ Also have bandages delivered.”

“Yes-”

Khalid shut the door. Shahrzad had drawn nearer while he spoke, brandishing her dagger.

“How old are you, Shahrzad?” Some of her readiness to kill had drained from her, and now confusion showed in her eyes.

“What?” She laughed. “Does it matter?”

“How old are you?”

“Sixteen.” Fear coiled cold at the base of Khalid’s spine. Shahrzad was seventeen, had been so for months. There was a demand of “What?” as she propped her free hand on her hip and studied him with sharp eyes.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“The last thing I remember? Last night.” Fury drew over her features once more, but so did a subtle pain only he could detect. “The night after you killed my best friend.”

Khalid drew in a shaky breath, guilt rushing up to swallow his heart. She lunged, the dagger on a perfect path for his stomach, and almost without thinking Khalid disarmed her with a slice to the forearm.

With a gasp, she dropped the dagger and stumbled into him _. I swore to never let her sound like that again-_

Khalid caught her. Seizing her arm, he wiped the frightening amount of red away. Though the depth was uneven, he didn’t appear to have cut any muscle. A small relief.

“Let go of me,” Shahrzad gritted out, yanking her injured arm. _“Let go of me!”_

He complied. Tears shone in both of their eyes as they stared at each other for a heartbeat, different pains making both ache, the same pain searing them differently.

“I’m so sorry.”

**Author's Note:**

> sorry about that  
> i’ll probably not be able to update that regularly, given that school is starting and APs are about to kick my ass. but comments are super motivating ;) and i’d love to hear what you think! constructive criticism is super welcome as long as it’s constructive. thanks for reading!


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